Episode 1812 - Break on Through
The twelfth episode of Season 18 of Hell's Kitchen aired on FOX, on January 18, 2019. On that episode, the second team switch occurred, the remaining chefs competed in a series of challenges for black jackets, and a shocking elimination of an early front runner occurred. Intro Back at the dorms, Mia told Ariel that she was thinking about moving back to the red team as she wanted to prove to Ramsay she could step up as a leader, before feeling that the latter was already the leader of the blue team. Despite wanting to volunteer herself, Ariel accepted that as she would be fine on any other team, and wanted to beat the best, referring to Mia. Team switch The next day, both teams lined up in front of Ramsay, who asked Bret if was ready to bounce back before asking who he thought would move into the red team. Bret believed that it would be Ariel as she was the best of the women so far, but while the latter admitted that she originally wanted to switch teams, she announced that Mia would be switching over. Mia received a red jacket as a result, but Bret believed that Mia would not become the leader next to himself. After the switch, Ramsay reminded the chefs that they have all received knowledge from not just himself, but from five guest judges that appeared in challenges such as Traci Des Jardins, David Lefevre, Shirley Chung, Richard Blais, and Valerie Gordon. Then, Ramsay said that the reason the six chefs were still standing was because they took in the knowledge and used them, and asked which one of them were ready to break through as the five panels of the guest judges broke behind him to reveal five black jackets. While Mia was excited about that, she was disappointed that she never got the chance to whip Bret and Motto into shape. After, Ramsay announced the Black Jackets Challenge were the six of them would compete in three challenges to earn black jackets, until one was eliminated. Individual Challenge 1 For the first Black Jackets Challenge, Ramsay revealed a punch box which contained different ingredients that the chefs would use to collect them. Multiple boxes include proteins, vegetables, starch, and a wild card ingredient. On the protein box, Bret was up first and grabbed pork chop, Kanae grabbed lamb, and after Motto hoped that there was not a snake to bite his hand, he grabbed salmon. Ariel grabbed scallops, Mia grabbed filet, and Heather grabbed duck, dismaying her as she never cooked with duck before. On the vegetable wall, the chefs had to grab two vegetables with Kanae grabbing asparagus and green beans, Heather grabbing peas and carrots, Bret grabbing sunchokes and leeks, Mia grabbing chard and onion, Ariel grabbing Brussels sprouts and butternut squash, and Motto grabbing mushrooms and broccoli. On the starch wall, Ariel grabbed celery root, Mia grabbed couscous, Heather grabbed purple sweet potatoes, Kanae grabbed red potatoes, Motto grabbed rice, and Bret grabbed polenta, exciting him as he cooked with that starch a lot, and Ramsay wished him a Merry Christmas. Finally, on the wild card wall, Kanae grabbed black truffle, Heather grabbed dried porcini, Bret grabbed whisky, Mia grabbed duck fat, Ariel grabbed bacon, and Motto grabbed mascarpone cheese. After, the chefs had 45 minutes to cook their dishes using their ingredients, and while Ariel knew that by this point, they should all be comfortable cooking a dish with unusual ingredients, Sous Chef Christina noticed the weird combination of ingredients Motto had, with the latter noting that it was either go big or go the fuck home. Meanwhile, Heather struggled to get her wine bottle open with wine splattering over her jacket, and while she complained that she hated duck, she also knew that it was all about flavors. In the red kitchen, Mia felt confident in her dish like she had during the previous challenges, and that she believed in herself. With one-minute left, Bret commented that if he did not leave Season 14 due to his back problems, he would have received a black jacket and possibly make it to the finale, before declaring that he was coming for it. Eventually, the chefs got their dishes cooked and plated on time. Heather was the first person to present her dish, and revealed her pan seared duck breast over a purple sweet potato puree and carrots and peas. When Ramsay noticed juice on the plate, Heather admitted it was from the duck as she did not properly rest it after slicing it. The, Ramsay criticized the puree for being gummy as Heather used the Vitamix for the puree, and was disappointed how much of a mess the dish was, even comparing it to her dirty jacket, though Bret was relieved that it was one less person he did not have to worry about. Then, Kanae’s potato crusted lamb with string beans and asparagus puree was praised for the small and dainty flavors, but criticized for having raw beans on the plate which destroyed any flavors. After, Motto’s citrus glazed salmon with crispy skin and brown sugar mascarpone gremolata was praised for a stunning presentation, deeming the removal of the skin as a smart idea, and a beautifully cooked salmon, with the only criticism being that the rice was under seasoned. Then, Ariel presented her pan seared scallops with bacon wrapped celery root, with Ramsay praising the cook on the scallops, loving how she confit the celery root, and deemed it a magical dish along with it being her strongest dish yet, with only nitpick being the unneeded fried leaves. For Mia, her filet mignon and swiss chard couscous was praised for a pro like plating, having the exact medium rare cook, and tasting delicious, with the only criticism being that her sauce was too heavy. Bret was the final person up, and presented his grilled pork chop, creamy polenta, and oven roasted sunchokes. However, Ramsay was confused by Bret’s comment about his dish looking “man sexy” as it looked anemic due to the colors, and while the pork chop sear was praised for looking good, along with the taste being spot on, Ramsay felt that the garnishes should have been reined in for the protein. After the judging, Ramsay announced that Ariel was the first person to receive a black jacket, and she felt very pumped to still in the competition. Then, after a difficult decision, Ramsay named Mia the second chef to receive a black jacket, and not was she happy about that, but she felt slimmer due to the black color. For winning a black jacket, Ariel and Mia spent the rest of the day at the Black Jackets Lounge, and while Mia went straight for the chocolate fountain, Ariel said that she could not have picked a better scenario than herself and Mia to be the first two black jackets of the season, before toasting to their milestone. Individual Challenge 2 For the second Black Jackets Challenge, Ramsay explained to the four remaining chefs that the best quality a chef could have is the creativity that came from the same ingredients. Each chef would take turns spinning a wheel to decide what the four would be cooking with which includes protein, two vegetables, and a wild card ingredient. Heather spun first, and landed on quail, but while she was not happy as she never worked with quail before, Kanae was excited as she perfected that protein during culinary school. Motto landed on eggplant, exciting Bret as he cooked with that vegetable a lot to the point he had a tattoo of it on his arm, Kanae landed on baby leeks, and Bret landed on cauliflower. After, Ramsay noted that with the odd results, the dish sounds like a nightmare, but wished the four luck in the cooking. The four chefs had 45 minutes to cook their dishes, and while Bret wanted himself and Motto in the Black Jacket Lounge after the challenge, the latter felt that there was no reason to over complicate the dish. While Bret started prepping the cauliflower and eggplant as he already had an idea of what to do with the two, he had to stop and think about what to do with the quail as he had not worked with it in a long time. 15 minutes left, Kanae was struggling to rice her cauliflower as she never done that before, while Heather decided to cut the legs and wings off her quail before stuffing the breast. Eventually, the four chefs got their dishes cooked and plated on time. As the judging began, Ariel and Mia received a live feed of the challenge back in the lounge. Kanae was up first, and presented her charred grilled quail with a creamy rice cauliflower and creamy leeks. However, Ramsay was not impressed with the cauliflower's presentation as it looked gloopy, but noted that it tasted better than it looked. Then, while Ramsay noted that Kanae’s eggplant needed more spice, the quail was spot on, leaving her to feel that there was no way she could not get a black jacket now. After, Motto’s country styled quail stuffed with bayleaf, which Mia compared the presentation to having a drunken night despite looking good, was deemed a little awkward due to the raw cauliflower, but otherwise, the quail was delicious. Heather was up next, but her lemon and parsley stuffed quail breast was criticized for having bits of lemon still in there as it made the quail taste bitter, despite all of the rest of the components working well, and Heather dismayingly said that she could not catch a break that day. Bret was the final person to have his dish judged, and presented his charred grilled quail with a cauliflower puree and chargrilled eggplant. Ramsay deemed the dish robust and was impressed that Bret nailed the quail, and that the puree was a smart move, but noted that eggplant did not match the high quality of the rest of the dish. After the judging, the live feed cut out on Ariel and Mia, but the two believed that Bret and Motto would make it based on that challenge alone. Back in the dining room, Ramsay named Bret as the third black jacket chef, he proudly dedicated his milestone to his deceased parents, and joined Ariel and Mia at the lounge. While Mia admitted that Bret was not her favorite person in the competition, she was however happy to see him. After, Ramsay announced that Motto won the fourth black jacket, which he solidified the fact that he belonged in Hell’s Kitchen, and warned the rest of the chefs to watch out for him as he joined the three other black jacket chefs at the lounge, which excited Ariel as she wanted him to make the black jackets, despite still feeling she could beat him. Individual Challenge 3 Back downstairs, Ramsay reminded Heather and Kanae that there was only one black jacket left, and that meant only one spot left in the final five. Then, Ramsay expressed disappointment in Heather as he saw better from her before and knew that she could do better, and she knew that she was better than that as well, before refusing to give up. On the other hand, Kanae felt pumped as her eye was on the prize, as Ramsay reminded her that she was close in the previous two challenges. For the final Black Jackets Challenge, Ramsay asked Heather and Kanae to create their own surf and turf dishes in 45 minutes. As the challenge began, Kanae was determined to win a black jacket, while Heather wanted the slight edge to beat the former. While Kanae decided to go creative with an Asian inspired surf and turf, Heather decided to go to what she knew, and cooked a classic filet mignon and lobster tail. However, Kanae was not impressed by that, and believed that Heather has officially peaked. When Heather was about to sauté her onions, she accidentally burned her hand when grabbing a hot pan, and had to see the medic to get it treated. Despite wanting to kick herself in the ass for having a lot of bad luck, Heather refused to go home now and would rather cook with a singed hand than quit. Eventually, the two got their dishes cooked and plated on time. As with the previous challenge, the black jackets saw a live stream of the challenge back at the lounge. Heather presented her classic filet and lobster tail with sautéed broccoli and Yukon gold mashed potatoes. While none of the other chefs were impressed that Heather kept to her roots and made a boring dish, Ramsay praised the dish for having a perfectly cooked lobster, and having an exact mid rare steak, but told Heather that next time, use a round plate to keep the contour exact, leaving her happy at the least. Then, Kanae felt that her dish was black jacket worthy, and presented single boned pork chop with a soy sauce marinated shrimp and coconut rice. While Heather deemed Kanae crazy for making a dish she never made before, Ramsay was impressed how Kanae kept thinking outside the box, having a medium well pork, and while he questioned Kanae if she cleaned the shrimp properly, she stated that she did. However, Ramsay found the shrimp to be too sweet for his liking, and the rice was under seasoned. Despite that, Ramsay deemed it a strong effort, and Kanae felt that she deserved a black jacket as she did not take it safe. As the feed cut out, the black jackets all agree that Kanae deserved a black jacket over Heather. Elimination Back downstairs, Ramsay told Heather and Kanae that neither of them made it easy for him, but announced that Heather won the final black jacket of the season as her dish was her best of the day. Heather was happy that she got to go back up to the lounge again, and left to meet with the others at the lounge, therefore Kanae was eliminated from the competition. Before leaving, Ramsay told Kanae that while she was not ready to become his Executive Chef at Hell’s Kitchen, he strongly believed that she was going to go forward to amazing things, and eventually, she would become an amazing Executive Chef, before telling her that she had nothing to feel ashamed about. Kanae admitted that she was proud about her accomplishments and enjoyed the competition as Ramsay wished her luck. During her exit interview, Kanae remarked that nothing would compare to what she went through, was proud to have make it that far, and was proud of her accomplishments. Back at the lounge, while the black jacket chefs were sure that Kanae would be the final person up, they were all shocked to see Heather come into the doors with Bret in the most shock, and Ariel disappointed by the outcome. However, Heather declared that she was back with a vengeance, and soon after, Ramsay and Sous Chef Christina came in to congratulate the five for making it to the black jackets. As they celebrated, Motto was stoked to be the country boy hanging with the big boys, Mia was grateful for learning a lot so far, and Heather knew that there was no more room for mistakes, and that she would do anything to win. Ramsay gave no comment on Kanae’s elimination, and she did not receive the coat hanging and picture burning sequence. Category:Episodes Category:Rookies Vs Veterans